The present invention relates to a communication cable which is connected between a peripheral device and a computer.
Conventionally, various peripheral devices such as a bar code reader, can be connected to a computer. Data is exchanged between the computer and the peripheral device through wires within the communication cable.
Generally, the peripheral devices and the computer each have a separate power supply. To reduce the number of power supplies required, a known personal computer system is provided with a DC terminal for supplying DC voltage to a peripheral device. However, due to the limited power supply availability and the restrictions in operating voltage, the range of peripherals which can be connected to this personal computer is limited.
Further, a modification of the communication cable which has a connector provided with a DC terminal for supplying DC voltage to the attached peripheral device, has been proposed. However there are many peripheral devices which require different voltage levels that can be used with the computer. To supply DC voltage through the connector having different voltage levels, different connectors would be required. This will increase the cost of the computer system to which the peripheral devices are connected.